Metro Atlanta plumbing and heating specialists say they’re seeing a spike in business with below-freezing temperatures in the area.

People are reporting pipes freezing or bursting because of the below-freezing temperatures.

Marie Williams owns Ashmel Plumbing in Southwest Atlanta, which she helped start in 1972. She said she tells customers to keep faucets dripping inside and outside the house.

“If it’s an exposed faucet, you just let it drip. And the kitchen as well and your home as well,” Williams said. “The drip keeps the pipes warm. [The water] prevents [pipes] from freezing.”

She said Atlanta area residents still make the same mistakes but there are now fewer calls compared to when she first started the business in 1972.

“Years ago, there was a time when people had busted pipes everywhere but not anymore,” Williams said. “Basically in Atlanta now people have learned to insulate to keep their homes warm so they wouldn’t have any internal problems.”

Heating Tips

Georgia Piedmont Technical College Professor Jeryll McWhorter, and director of the A/C Technology/Building Automation Systems/Commercial Refrigeration program, said many companies are getting calls about people not having heat.

McWhorter said to prevent heaters from breaking down, keep the thermostat running.

“Whatever temperature is comfortable, just set it, and just let it cycle,” McWhorter said. “In this weather you’re going to have a high bill because it’s unseasonably cold, so that’s something that you’re just going to have to suffer through.”

He said setting it about 70 degrees is a good constant temperature.

McWhorter added that the biggest problem is usually maintenance. He said to make sure to change the air filter at least twice a year and have a heating specialist check the heating system before winter starts and to make sure all vents are open and not blocked by anything.